Kebabalicious: A Taste of Europe in Austin...

Trying out the local food was one of my favorite things to do while I was in Europe. I did spend a lot of time in McDonald's; in fact I ate more McDonald's Big Macs in Europe than I do at home. They are everywhere in the most convenient locations, cheap, fast, they have free Internet access, and often times they were the only places that were open.

But looking for and eating the local food was one of my favorite things to do when I wasn't stressed, rushed, or on the move. Two of my favorite foods were the Döner Kebab while I was in central Europe (mainly Germany) and Burek while I was traveling through the Balkans. These are perfect traveling food. They are cheap (around 3.60 Euro in Germany), widely available foods, high calorie foods that will keep you going for hours. The establishments that serve them usually stay open well after other restaurants close.

I have not be able to find Burek anywhere in Austin or in America for that matter. But there is only one place in Austin where you can get an authentic Turkish Döner Kebab. It originates in Turkey and is a flour wrapped in chicken or lamb, with vegetables, and a particular kind of sauce that gives it its unique flavor. It is similar to a Greek Gyro. What is unusual about it is that the meat is mounted on a heated rotating stand to keep it warm. It is shaved off in thin slices using an electric razor.

Kebabalicious replicates the flavor and style very closely to what I was eating in Germany. They are a small food stand located on 7th and Trinity in a parking lot. Unfortunately they only open from Wednesday thru Saturday late nights (after 9 pm or 10 pm)  and only if the weather is reasonably decent. I would suggest you get there well before 2 am as the lines get very long when the bars close. I highly recommend it as a great place to get a late night place to grab a bite to eat. It's too bad that they don't open longer hours and only serve the downtown bar scene.

Photo: Wooden Roses

Wooden Roses
Originally uploaded by lcf1976

A couple weeks ago was the Pecan Street Festival. The most interesting thing I saw were these wooden roses. They were made out of these paper thin slices of wood and painted in bright, pretty colors. They were really pretty...

Town Lake at Dusk

Downtown Bridges
Originally uploaded by lcf1976

This must be one of my favorite pictures of the downtown/ Town Lake pictures. It was taken at dusk just as the sun was going down. The lighting is just right!

Visible is the Congress Ave. bridge, the 1st bridge, Silicon Labs, the CSC building, the brand new AMLI apartment towers, as well as a large tower under construction (I don't remember the name at the moment). Also visible is where I currently live, the Milago, which is visible in the distance. Behind it is Legacy at Town Lake, which is going to be a luxury apartment complex.

This was shot on a Yashica 6x6 medium format TLR on Fuji Velvia. I might get this drum scanned and printed big! :)

Rio Neon Sign...

Rio Neon Sign...
Originally uploaded by lcf1976

I was walking home from downtown and I noticed this pretty neon sign. It's also a pretty good Mexican restaurant. The story here is that this space was used to film MTV's Real World when it was being filmed in Austin. I never quite understood the appeal of watching a bunch of young people getting drunk, however.

Shot From The 360...

Here is a beautiful shot of downtown Austin from the top of the 360 condominium tower. This is currently the tallest building in Austin. The view is spectacular here! You can see all of downtown Austin in a 360 degree field of view. I just love the feeling of being high up in a skyscraper. It's a feels peaceful and exhilarating observing everything that is happening in the city from that vantage point.

  

Celebrating the Opening of the 360 Tower...

The 360 tower celebrated its opening last Thursday. It was an invitation only party for the owners of the building plus their guests. I found out about the party thru AustinTowers.net and I knew my neighbor at the Milago purchased a unit, so I used his ticket to get in and bring a couple friends. The building has been an amazing success. They have sold out all 430 units and have a waiting list of 215 units. It's success has been the result of good timing, a great location, and good pricing. The building is 44 stories tall and now is the tallest building in Austin, beating the Frost Bank tower by 50 feet.

Also, the Shore condos has opened to residents as well. This is a 22 story building near the Milago where I live. Austin skyline will be undergoing some major changes over the next few years.

The picture on the left shows the completed 360 building. The building towards its left is the Monarch, which is a brand new luxury apartment complex that is nearing completion.

What Happened to Ringers?

What happened to Ringers Sports Lounge? I heard from the grapevine that it has been such down because they didn’t pay their alcohol tax. This is one of my favorite hot spots in downtown Austin. I go there to play poker on Wendsdays and Fridays. I’ve met a lot of cool people there. It’s a friendly, laid back crowd, beautiful waitresses (I had a really bad crush on 2 of them), and a well run tournament run by Lone Star Free Poker. Now, it’s gone. :( The poker has moved to One-2-One, but that place is not nearly as nice as Ringers. I may have to start going to Third Base more often, but that’s on the west side of downtown.

Ringers is one of the more popular sports bars in downtown Austin. There was always a large crowd there whenever there was a big game of any kind going on. But many nights were pretty slow especially if there wasn't poker going on. Oh well, I hope they get to reopen. I'll be bummed if they are really gone for good.